Sealing mechanism



Dec. 12, 1950 c. z. MONROE 2,533,832

SEALING -MECHANISM Filed'oct, 14, 1947 2 sheets-snaai 1 vINVENTOR.

Dec. 12, '1950 c. z. MONROE 2,533,832

SEALING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 14, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5"/ i 'INI/ENTOR.

Patented Dec. 12, 1950 SEALING MECHANISM Charles Z. Monroe, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Ex-Cell-O Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application october 14, 1947,seria1Na77a682 1 Claim. 1

. The nnal step in the process of forming, coating, charging and closing paper fluid containers of the type disclosed and claimed in Patent Number 2,047,891, issued to Henry T. Scott, consists in applying to the terminal rib sufficient compressive force to cause the several plies of that rib, which have previously been coated with a waterproofing compound such as Wax, to closely adhere to each other so that these several plies together form a stiff, rigid, structurally strong portion of the container completely without irlterstices through which any portion of the liquid content thereof may escape. The mechanism for performing such iinal sealing operation-which has heretofore been most generally employed has included at opposed relatively movable dies or pressure elements together with mechanism for reciprocating at least one of such elements and causing it to move in a path directly toward and away from the opposing element. In the usual case such sealing mechanism has comprised portion of a complete automatic machine for the initial squaring out of paper blanks, coating of partially completed containers, closing, stapling and sealing the same, closed containers being advanced along a predetermined pathway by a conveyor and the terminal rib of each successive container .being passed between the relatively movable sealing dies and, while stationary, being Subjected to the pressure of such dies. The conveyor employed is of the intermittently operating type since it is necessary for the container to remain stationary While the rib is thus subjected to sealing pressure.

In accordance with the present invention an improved sealing mechanism is provided Whereby, in lieu of at work engaging elements, at least one of which is mounted for reciprocation, two sealing elements of rotary type are substituted so that the work need not be halted while being subjected to the sealing operation, the time necessary for the carrying out o1 that operation is reduced and the conveyor means employed is of the convenient continuously operating type. The actual sealing operation is performed in an improved manner so that the ultimate product is a container rib which is thoroughly resistant to the shocks incident to handling and will not permit leakage under any circumstances, the mechanism works 'more smoothly, having no reciprocating parts, and the compressive forces, being gradually applied by rolling contact rather than by the application of a hammerlike blow, do not cause Vibration and have no tendency to disturb any mechanism positioned nearby and mounted upon the same base or frame. Because of the substitution for reciprocating work engaging elements of the rotary Work engaging elements of the present invention desirable simplification in the mechanism for applying the compressive forces may be effected, the number of parts substantially reduced and the design being such that the mechanism may remain in operation for long periods of time upon an automatically operating machine without requiring attention, adjustment or repair. Variation in thickness of the work to be acted upon presents no diiliculty, the rotatable sealing elements being yieldingly held against movement or separation, the yielding means being so adjusted as to apply the necessary sealing pressure to each article of work passing therebetween but permitting the sealing members to separate slightly when and if an article of greater4 than normal thickness enters the pass between them.

One form of the invention, selected by way of example for the purpose of disclosure, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which.

Figure l is a side elevation, partly broken away, of the improved sealing mechanism;

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the same, also partly broken away to show certain of the interior elements; and

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

In Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings there is illustrated, in chain lines, the outline of a container C which is generally of the type disclosed in the Scott patent previously mentioned, comprising a tubular body portion which is square in cross section, a flat, closed bottom and a top portion, generally indicated at C1, comprising relatively folded stiff panels dening a container top of the gable type which terminates in a multi-ply rib C2. are preferably united by stapling and the mechanism of the present invention is then employed to compress the rib into a single solid leak-resisting member, the sealing elements being also utilized, if this is desired, to imprint upon the opposite faces of the rib any lettering or information thought to be desirable, as for instance the date or day of the week when the container was actually sealed.

During the time that the rib C2 o1' the container is undergoing the sealing operation the container is supported upon a conveyor the elongated stationary container base supporting portion of which is indicated at ill in Figure 1, and which is disposed at right angles to the plane o the paper. The containers are advanced in a The several panels of the rib continuous manner and at the desired rate of speed by a container advancing means the details of which form no portion of the invention, but which will be understood to move the con- Vtainers longitudinally of the stationary support l0 and to hold them erect so that the several ribs C2 of the successive containers pass between the rotary pressure applying elements indicated at P and P1 in the drawings, by which the sealing pressure is applied.

The pressure rollers P and P1 are supported and tainers C advancing along that'trackway (in a direction normal to the paper). The sealing roller P1 is mounted upon the lower end of a spindle ll which is vertically disposed and concentric with a sleevelike portion l2 of the housing H, the spindle being freely revoluble about a; xed axis, being embraced adjacent its lower end by bearing i3 and supported adjacent its upper end by roller :bearing l5. K

A gear Iii is mounted upon the upper end of spindle l i and is keyed thereto, a nut l? threaded t'o the upper end of the spindle holding the gear and spindle against relative movement axially of the spindle. rToward the lower end of the spindle is located a spindle collar or head 20, rotatable with the spindle at all times', the spindlehead being provided with apertures for the reception of pins 2l carried by the sealing member P1. It will be observed that the sealing member P1 is provided with a central aperture through which the spindle extends andV that it is heldin the position in which it is illustrated by Y means of a nut 22 and washer 23, the nut being nut 22. o Y

The second spindle E5 is similarly formedand Y to its upper endis keyed a second gear 26 the teeth of which mesh with those of gear i6 so that, when gear i6 is driven, spindles il and 25 will be VVVrevolved in opposite directions. Gears I3 and 23 are preferably the same in diameterv and sealing members P and P1 are likewise preferably equal in diameter so that the peripheral speeds of Vthe sealing wheels will be identical. Power for driving gears :i6 and 26 is obtained from a'power shaft 28 which has keyed to its upper end a drivingrgear 2e which is in constant mesh with gear I6 previously referred to. The peripheral speeds of the sealing wheels P and Plare preferably the same as the speed of movement of the work passing alongv the conveyor so that the position of a 'Y container being acted upon, with respect to the conveyor uponV which it is supported, will not be changed. or modified'by the action of the sealing mechanism. Y,

'It will be observed that the sleevelike support 39 for theY bearings which carry the spindle 25 is mounted for bodily movement toward and awayV from the frame portion l2 in which the Vspindle 7?' ments are of such limited extent, the variations in thickness of the ribs ofthe containers being proc- 4. H is rotatably supported, so that the sealing wheel P may recede from or move toward the sealing wheel P1. This construction may most clearly be observed in Figure 2, a horizontally eX- tending lug 32 integral with sleeve 33 being there shown to be pivotally attached to vertically spaced lugs 33 (only the uppermost of which is shown), integral with the housing H, by means of a pivot member 34. Bodily swinging movement of sleeve 30, sealing wheel P and gear 26 about the axis of spindle 34 may thus occur and, associated with vthe sleeve 39 and the operating parts mounted thereon, is means for resiliently urging Y this sleeve toward Vthe xed sleeve l2 and a stop device for limiting the movement of sleeve 30 and wheel P under the influence of the resilient means.

Thus a relatively heavy helical spring 35, which is normally compressed, has one end received Wtihin a cylindrical recess 36 formed in a lug 31 rigid with sleeveV 3l! and extending outwardly therefrom in a direction opposite to that in which the lug 32 extends, the opposite end of spring V35 being received within a cylindrical recess 38 formed in a plug 39 which has threaded engagement with the interiorly threaded cylindrical aperture Ml formed in the housing H, the outer end of cylindrical aperture 4Q being normally closed by a second plug 4|. The member 39 is provided with a central aperture 42 within which a tool may be inserted after plug M has been removed and by means of which tool member 39 may be rotated and its position in threaded aperture 4D changed to increase or decrease the pressure of the spring against plug 39 as desired. A stop memberris indicated at 45 and a stop engaging part associated with sleeve 3d is indicated at 46. Ordinarily the stop 45 will remain in fixed position as shown, having threaded engagement with a fixed portion of the housing. The stop contacting Vmember 4e is longitudinally adjustable, its threaded exterior engaging the threaded interior of the aperture in lug 31 through which it passes. By the insertion of a tool through the aperture 42 in member 39, after removal ofplug 4|, the position of the stop engaging end of theV contact member i6 may be varied, the opposite end of vmember lili being slotted or otherwise provided with an aperture for' the reception of an adjusting tool such as a screwdriver;

Ordinarily the stop isadjusted to such position that the peripheries of the sealing wheels'P and P1 willV be'quite close to each other when no work -is passing between them, the thickness of the work being substantially greater than the distance between the Work engaging rollers. Whenthe rib of the container enters the pass between rollers P and P1 these rollers will be spread apart against the heavy resistance of the spring 35, the spring pressure being suicientlygreat to cause therollers to exert'the necessary force against the opposite faces of the container ribfand thus secure the desired compression of that'rib and the desired printing upon its surface of any legend to be placed thereon. The rolling action is silent but positive. Movements of the movable roller P relatively to the stationary roller P1 during'the operation of the machine will not have the effect of disengaging driving gears I6 and 26 as suchmoveessed being measured only in vthousa'ndths ofl an inch. YIf desired guides for insuring accuracy of movement of the successive container ribs into the ypass maybe provided, portion or such a'g'ude a being indicated at 5E, the undersurface thereof being provided with a container rib receiving guide slot 50a. A second guide 5l having an aligned guide slot E l a may be positioned to receive the ribs of containers which have just been acted upon by the rollers. The rollers themselves may have continuous cylindrical work engaging surfaces or may have segmental work engaging suri aces, the roller P1 shown in plan in Figure 2 being of this latter type. The actual work engaging portions of the rollers may be separately formed and attached metal members, bearing indicia if desired, for instance hardened steel blocks.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that, while the mechanism described is particularly suitable for use in the compression and sealing of the terminal ribs of containers of the type described, it may be used in the application of sealing pressures to articles of somewhat different nature and that, in adapting the same, minor changes may be made in the design and arrangement of the component elements of the mechamsm.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A machine of the class described comprising, in combination, two rotary sealing members together defining a pass or work to be acted upon, spindles upon which said members are mounted, a frame, spindle supports carried by the frame, one of said supports being mounted on the frame for arcuate movement about an axis toward and away from the other support, and means forv maintaining said movable support in desired relation to the second support while permitting separation of said supports when the sealing members are forced apart by the work, said means including a stop member, a stop engaging part and a spring disposed in coaxial relationship along a line oiset from said movable spindle support and generally tangential to an arc centered on said axis at the outer end of a radius extending from said axis and passing through said movably mounted spindle, the movable support having an extension upon which the stop engaging member is supported for longitudinal adjustment, the stop being mounted on an adjacent portion of the frame and the spring is interposed between said extension and a second frame portion.

CHARLES Z. MONROE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,686,810 Greene Oct. 9, 1928 2,308,589 Davis Jan.. 19, 1943 2,343,975 Hosl'ield Mar. 14, 1944 2,376,253 Humphrey May 15, 1945 2,385,583 McLauchlan Sept. 25, 1945 

